Calming anxiety with these 3 simple steps.
I’ve been working with many people to alleviate their anxiety, stress and shifting blocks to help them feel more in control of their lives and move forward again.
Is anxiety affecting you, your family or your friends?
Anxiety disturbs our peace. Our situation often appears to be out of our control and stops us from enjoying life.
Thoughts can make you feel worried and scared and can create physical symptoms in your body such as unwanted emotions, heart racing, shortness of breath and nausea.
Anxiety is a normal human response to some situations, but the problem is when it starts to control your life.
The good new is you can recover from anxiety and anxiety disorders. There is help and support available.
Would you like to start transforming your anxiety today?
Here are 3 games and 3 interesting facts.
Just play with these 3 games, don’t read them and think I’ll do this later. As you read the games, try them out, see how it feels.
- GET PRESENT.
INTERESTING FACT: Thoughts are always made up of the past and future. You can only ever experience NOW.
All your thoughts create messages to the body to respond to a situation and the body can not tell the difference between a real threat or an imagined threat.
THE GAME: “Experience NOW.”
- – Look in front of you and just notice something in your field of vision you hadn’t noticed before.
Try it now before continuing.
- Now listen, listen for a sound that you hadn’t noticed before.
- And finally just notice something you are physically touching that you hadn’t noticed before.
- Notice how you are experiencing the moment right now.
- BREATHE.
INTERESTING FACT; Breathing is connected to our sympathetic and para sympathetic nervous system. That is our involuntary fight, flight and our relaxation response messages to the body. How we breathe will affect our bodies response to situations.
Anxiety and stress can cause us to hold our breath unknowingly and also have fast, shallow breaths. Let’s explore how deep regular breathing can help soothe your nervous system.
THE GAME: Controlled deep breathing.
Sit or lie down comfortably.
Start by breathing out. Now take a long, purposeful, slow breath in, pause and then very gently breathe out slowly. Repeat.
This may seem too simple, but long slow rhythmical breaths will help to calm the nervous system, slow a racing heart and bring oxygen in to the body.
Try breathing right down into your abdomen, place your hand just below your ribs and feel the belly rising as you breathe in and out.
This helps you to get really present with what your body is doing, encourages a deep breath and helps to take your attention from stressful thoughts in your mind, to what is happening right now in your body.
You can also count as you breathe in and count as your breathe out. for example. Breathe in 1, 2, 3, 4. Pause. Breathe out 4, 3, 2, 1, Pause. Repeat.
I personally like to count my breath in, then visualise the out breath going out all the way down through my feet into the earth. Like the roots of a tree going all the way down, firmly grounded.
With practice you will start to notice when stress has triggered you by the way you are breathing. This is a technique you can use anywhere at anytime to calm down and get centred.
It’s the simple things that work!
- PERIPHERAL VISION.
INTERESTING FACT: Using the peripheral vision activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the relaxation response for the body.
GAME: Open up your peripheral vision.
As you are reading this, Relax your gaze and allow your vision to open up wide either side, to the left and right. With out directly looking, notice what’s in your peripheral vision. It may be slightly blurred, that’s ok, the intention is to just let your vision open up wide as you continue to look at this page.
Notice what it’s like having your attention wide open. What’s happening in your mind? Is it quieter, thinking less? Is your inner experience more restful, spacious or still?
You can do this exercise anywhere. Gently look forward and expand your peripheral vision. Spending time outdoors rather than focused inwards on one point indoors helps to activate the peripheral vision and the relaxation response for the body, which is what your body would love.
We spend our days going from one inward focus, like working on a computer to a phone to the tv.
If you are spending long periods on the computer, phone or TV, play this game, open up your vision around the screen and be aware of the space around it too.
Play and try out these 3 games.
Every moment is different so try them out at different times in different situations and notice the mind quieten as you apply them.
I’d love to know if the games have helped you.
Please feel free to contact me and let me know.
If you would like more personal help alleviating your anxiety, stress or to shift any fears or blocks, I am more than happy to have a chat and see how I can help.
You can contact me HERE ,
Email josie.calm@josietruelove.com or call me on +44 7909 838214.
Wishing you safe and peaceful days ahead,
Your Mind Calm Coach,
Josie
Your Mind Detox & Calm Coach
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